1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to truncated, generally cylindrical food items and holders therefor during baking and transport, and more particularly to cone and cake combinations and holders therefor during baking and transport.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ice cream cones and cupcakes have long been popular dessert items. Recently, it has become known to bake cupcakes within ice cream cones to form dessert items. These dessert items must be held and supported during baking to ensure complete baking and proper shape. Moreover, these dessert items tend to become ruined and inedible when toppled, before, during, or after baking. Numerous attempts have been made to provide supports for ice cream cones, cup cakes, and the like, which maintain correct orientation during baking and transportation, and prevent the cone or other food items from falling over. However, these prior attempts have failed to provide a fully satisfactory solution to the problem of incorrectly oriented ice cream cones, and moreover these prior attempts do not present a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,628,718, issued to Carl E. Fritzche, on May 17, 1927, describes an ice cream cone wrapper and carrier having support apertures in a cross member, for supporting a plurality of ice cream cones. There is also a surrounding container that protects the ice cream cones. Because there is only a single line of apertures, the device of this patent consumes a relatively large volume per aperture. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,674,209, issued to Chester R. Lord, on Jun. 19, 1928, describes an ice cream cone receptacle including a box and apertured cross member that supports ice cream cones. The box has a handle. The cross member is integral with the box, making the cross member unremovable. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,6984,779, issued to Raymond W. Holmes et al., on Oct. 17, 1972, describes a container for displaying and shipping food. The container has a plurality of trays supported by a central spindle. There is no provision for supporting upright ice cream cones. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,374, issued to George Webinger, on Jul. 21, 1981, describes a tray for supporting food, such as pizza, during heating. The tray has apertures for allowing steam to escape during heating of the food. There is no provision for supporting upright ice cream cones. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,805, issued to Leonard Seeley, on Sep. 29, 1981, describes an ice cream tray formed from plastic in a unitary construction and having three indentations configured for receiving and supporting ice cream cones. These indentations prevent tipping of the cones. The tray of this patent supports only a bottom tip of an ice cream cone, making breakage a problem of significant likelihood. There is no provision for supporting cupcakes or for providing ventilation of ice cream cones (before insertion of ice cream) or cupcakes during baking. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,654, issued to Peter Odsgard, on Dec. 18, 1984, describes a stand and carrier for conical objects such as ice cream cones. The device of this patent has a relatively complicated mechanism for both a stand and a folding carrier for carrying ice cream cones and cup-shaped objects. The foldability of material used in the carrier argues against use in baking, since easily foldable materials are typically unsuitable for use at high temperatures. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,392, issued to Bernard V. Gerber, on Mar. 31, 1987, describes a muffin baking pan having a detent for producing a cavity in a muffin. There is no provision in this patent for supporting a plurality of ice creams cone cakes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,513, issued to Joyce Colucci et al., on Apr. 26, 1994, describes rolled-dough cones. There is no provision in this patent for supporting a plurality of ice creams cone cakes.
U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 317,222, issued to John E. Dodge, on Jun. 4, 1991, shows an adjustable ice cream cone holder that holds only a single ice cream cone. There is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 321,968, issued to John Schindler et al., on Dec. 3, 1991, shows an ice cream cone cover that covers only a single cone. There is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 340,343, issued to Mauricio Rizikow, on Oct. 19, 1993, shows an ice cream cone holder that holds only a single cone. There is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
Danish Patent Document No. 114,538, issued to Borge Andreas Ravn, on Jul. 7, 1969, describes an ice cream cone carrier constructed of structurally flimsy material so as to fold into a carrying configuration. If constructed of sturdy, solid material, as is the present invention, the device of this patent would not function as described. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
French Patent Document No. 1,429,322, issued to Cartonneries de Saint-Germain, on Jan. 17, 1966, describes a cup holder having pop-out handles and meant to be used with closed yogurt containers. The holder of this patent does not have a support structure suitable for use with ice cream cone cakes. Additionally, there is no provision in this patent for a combination of cone, cake, baking holder, and carrier.
PCT Patent Document No. WO 89/05764, issued to Roger Hassevelde et al., on Jun. 29, 1989, describes a device for wrapping an packaging an ice cream cone. The device holds only a single ice cream cone, and is not configured to hold an ice cream cone cake during baking.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.